A Day of Grief
by charmedangel025
Summary: I have already posted this story, but as I reread it the other day, I realized that I had screwed up on the names. So, I fixed them, and am reposting it. A day of grief almost rips Buffy and Angel apart before it brings them closer together. ONE SHOT.


A Day of Grief

**Rating: PG**

**Summery: A day of grief brings back someone very important to Buffy.**

**Disclaimer: **If, I said I owned them, I lied.

**Feedback: **Give it to me. But, be gentle.

Buffy stood at the front of the line, shaking the hands of the people that passed by, giving their condolences. She looked away for just a moment. And, when she did, she saw him. He stood there, just inside the door of the church. Buffy left the line and walked to Angel.

"You came."

"Of course I came." He said, pulling her to him. She wrapped her arm's around him and held him tighter then she ever had before.

Buffy and Angel had married two years after the Final Battle in L.A. A year later, Angel finally got his Shan Shu, and they brought daughter, Paige O'Connor a year later. They moved to San Francisco, to be closer to Dawn, who was attending college there. Then, three years later, Aiden came into the O'Connor home. Happiness was a constant in the house, with laughter always filling the house. And then, the unthinkable happened.

"Don't forget that Paige's allergic to-"

"Peanuts, I know." Willow said, cutting Buffy off. Willow and six year old Paige walked out the door, and Angel came down the stairs with three year old Aiden squirming around in his arm's. He handed him to Buffy, who set him on her hip. "I won't be home late." Angel said, kissing her. He, too, walked out, and Buffy set to her Tuesday chores, for Tuesday was her day off.

That night, Angel came home at five, but by seven, Willow and Paige still hadn't returned. When the phone finally rang, Buffy answered it with laughter in her voice. "Hello?"

"Buffy..." Willow started, her voice shaky.

"Willow, where are you, it's after seven-"

"Buffy... Buffy, there's been an accident." Willow told her.

Buffy turned to Angel, her face and voice becoming totally series. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Some idiot smashed into my car..."

"Is Paige alright?" Willow didn't say anything. "Willow, tell me what the hell is going on."

"It's bad, Buffy." Was all she could manage to say.

"Which hospital are you at."

"Bay General." Buffy didn't even as much as say good bye before slamming the phone back onto the receiver. She scooped up Aiden, then filled Angel in as she put their son in the car. After dropping him off at Dawn's, they drove to the hospital in silence.

Buffy ran up to the front desk in the E.R. "My name is Buffy O'Connor, I'm looking for my daughter Paige."

"You'll have to wait for a few minuets, ma'am." The nurse said, without even looking up.

"No, I will _not_ wait. Tell me where my daughter is!"

"Buffy!" Willow said, running to her.

"Will! Are you alright!" Buffy asked, beginning to get a little bit frantic.

"I'm fine. The idiot that hit us... hit Paige's side of the car. They had to take her into emergency surgery." Before Buffy could answer, the doctor came up to them. "Ms. Rosenburge," he began. But, before he could finish, Angel cut in. "We're Paige O'Connor's parents. How is she?" The doctor's expression was grave. Buffy moved closer to Angel, who slid his arm around her and held her tight.

"I'm sorry, but your daughter sustained extensive brain damage. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry." Buffy felt her legs give out, and she collapsed into Angel's embrace. "No!" she kept screaming, "No!" She and Angel sunk to the the floor as she sobbed, and Angel also let his tears fall.

Buffy didn't want to be around anyone. She even alienated Angel. They began fighting, and she grew to hate him. Well, maybe not hate. She was just angry at everyone. Angel didn't know how to deal with it. And he even saw a change in Aiden as the days passed, and Buffy's anger and depression grew. So Angel removed his son and himself from the house. They hadn't spoken in almost two weeks.

And then the day of the funeral came.

Angel had come in and sat in the front, but on the opposite side of the room as Buffy. He was angry at her, and she at him. They both needed each other to cling to, to cry to. But, at that point, they just didn't' have each other anymore. In the past two weeks, things had been destroyed. Her daughter was gone, her husband was gone; or at least she thought he was.

And this made her angry. But, as she stood there, on the grass, in front of the fresh grave, she realized that she wasn't made at Angel. She was mad at the son-of-a-bitch that had killed her daughter.

When the service was over, and the tiny casket had been laid into the ground, the hole filled with dirt, Buffy stood in front of it and just stood there, staring. She felt Angel come up behind her. "How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice soft. Without and answer or a warning, she turned around and through her arms around him. She just cried. She felt little drops of water fall onto her hair, and she guessed that he was crying, too.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean to push you away." She pulled away from him. "I'm just so _angry_. I mean, I'm the Slayer, I'm the one who's always in danger, _I'm_ the one who was supposed to go first. She was so full of life, and she loved every minuet of it. She was _six years old, _Angel. Six years old! She wasn't supposed to go like this!" Angel pulled her back to him, and held her tighter then he ever had. "She must have been so scared, felt so alone." She said. She felt Angel shake his head.

"I don't think so. She was probably brave, just like she always was. Just like you taught her to be."

"I just want to know why. Why did she have to go? And the way she did..." Angel kissed to top of her head. "We'll never know the answers to those questions. We just have to go on with life, like she would have wanted you to."

"I don't think I can."

"Well, you have to. For Aiden. He needs us. We can't just fall apart and stay broken." He said, and he felt her nod against his chest. She pulled way, and wiped her eyes. "Come on, lets go get our son." Then, after another minuet of just looking at the spot where they had laid to rest what they had lost, they walked away.


End file.
